The Federal Government has raised concerns over the state of infrastructure along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and ordered urgent repairs on several bridges.

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, who disclosed this during a joint inspection tour with directors of highways, controllers from Lagos and Ogun states, engineers from the Federal Ministry of Works, and officials from the Lagos Ministry of Works, examined five critical bridges, including Lotto, Ogere, Sapade, and Alapako.

The Inspection uncovered severe structural threats, including rusted reinforcement rods and damage caused by repeated collisions from heavy-duty trucks.

The existing headroom on many of the bridges was found to be inadequate for modern transportation demands.

Among the five inspected bridges, the Alapako Bridge was deemed the most critical. The minister ordered its immediate closure due to the high risk it poses to motorists.

?We inspected the first five bridges and discovered we are having a problem. As much as the headroom in bridge design is 5.6 meters, we have some bridges up to 6.2 meters and some not up to that. But we have some of the bridges being hit by vehicles, which is very dangerous,? he said.

?The way the bridges are now is very dangerous. The Alapako Bridge should be closed immediately. Although these bridges didn?t have any budgetary allocations, they are jobs that need serious emergency work. The need to reconstruct them is very high.?

Umahi gave a directive for all future bridge designs to meet a minimum headroom clearance of 6.5 meters to accommodate the increasing volume and size of vehicles on Nigerian highways.

In a separate development, the Minister ordered a halt to construction work on the 12km Sagamu-Iperu Road, located near the Sagamu Interchange on the same expressway.

He expressed deep dissatisfaction with the quality and pace of work by the contractor handling the project.

?I am giving seven days. I am leaving behind the design head so that they can work till Sunday to come up with a comprehensive drawing and then costing, so that I can appeal to Mr. President. This is very urgent. If any of them should collapse, it will take multi-billion Naira to get them reconstructed, but now it will take less to get them amended,? Umahi said.

He further directed the contractor to remove the existing stone base, procure a proper milling machine, and apply the correct stone mix to ensure the road?s durability.

The minister emphasised the importance of proactive maintenance, warning that continued neglect could lead to catastrophic infrastructure failure and skyrocketing reconstruction costs.

He said the inspection comes as part of the Federal Government?s renewed focus on improving Nigeria?s critical road infrastructure, ensuring safer travel for commuters, and supporting economic activities along one of the country?s busiest highways. (The Guardian)

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